Miniature ornamental enclosure



Eb.12,1946. N; A Y Y 4 2,394,748 v ,MINIATURE ORNAMENTAL ENCLOSURE Filed May 29, 1944 2' Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTDR; HA EL Non. CASEY ATTORNEY Patented Feb. 12, 1946 UN ITED STAT? E S 02F F ICE 2,394,748 V MINIATUREL QRNAMENTAL ENCLOSURE Hazel Noel' Gasey, Columbia, .MOL

Application' .May- 29, 1944,. Serial.No..537,93-8- 12" Glaiins;

This. invention. relates to. improvements in miniatur ornamental enclosures; and:-. more particularly to a" novel; prefer-ably foldable: or collapsible structure, adapted when: extended and assembled; to serve-any ofv a. variety of-purposes; for example asachildfs toy.;.or for. banquetitable ornaments; containers for certain; kinds; of novelty products, and; for numerous other; uses.

An: objector thepresent invention is toI provide .a highly ornamental, structurally simpleen closure for the purposes noted; which may. be utilized with or. without a top. cover or canopy and which may: be producedling alvariety of; sizes and qualities. according; tolselection of, materials;

A. furtherobiect. of the invention. isattained in. an, ornamental enclosure for decorativev use or as-a toy. which isreadily-foldableinto flat form for packaging. and distribution. and yet which may' be quicklyandI readilyassembled to, constitute to enclosure oi. fixed: dimensions. and shaping, through the useot a.- novel; andsimple form of fastening element.. 7

Yet another object of the invention is: attained; particularly in the field of.- toys'or thelike, inadding. to: a flexible. panel. structure. of. the general type noted, certain. detachable... ornamental figures. which. serve: not. only to. imparta highly realistic; third. dimensional: characteristic. to the assembly, but. also serve. a, distinct functional .purpose in. assisting in fixing. a. predetermined geometric. shape of. the. wall-forming. elements.

A still further. important objective of. the in. vention. is, attained in. a. novel type of fastening adaptable to a polygonal panel-type. wallstructure. in. a miniature enclosure, the.. fastening elements being susceptible. of. production at. a. low cost, and. entirely. of. small. amounts of. scrap or strips of sheet material, yet serving admirably their intended. securement iuncti'on.

A stillfurther object of the-.invention,.in.refer.-' ence to one highly effective. application of. structure in accordance, with present improvements, is attained in a low-cost article. in. simulation of a. merry-go-round or carousel provided, optionallywith means for. rotating. same. to impart, still further realism.

The. foregoing and. many other objects will more clearly appear from. the. following detailed description of'a selected exemplary embodiment of. the invention, particularly, when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is atop or plan view of the assembly with part of the canopy thereof broken; away to show the relationof the wall panels;

i material formedtoprovi'de; imassembly aconical top or. canopy for the enclosure;

Fig; 6 isa, view; of: the wait-forming: portion of. the; assembly,- specifically; the series; of panels thereoi showninzcollapse'd or folded form;

Fig; 7; is a fragmentary: portion: of: a border strip: utilized; perimetrally of. the canopy-form:- ing member. oi1E g., 5,, and including; as; formed integrally with: the: strip,- a pain of; the; fastening elements-,. and I Fig. .8316. a. planviewoi. one; of. the figuresashown imassembl'y imfiigz.2;.and illustrating a preferred shapingand notchingnf: eaclrof the. figures;.such that it. may serve as afastening; element.

Referring. now by: characters; of. reference". to the drawings; and first: to thewall forming portion. of the, structure shown by Fig. 1 the device as preferably. supplied: to; the trade is: in the form consisting of a2. series of: planar panelszpreferably of: event length. and width; orheight; and which may be formed of any suitable. sheet material such: as: cardboard, sheet metal, plastic sheet products (transparent ifdesired: for: interior illumination with a highly.- ornamental effect), or of-- any: of the. numerous other sheet 1 products presently or in. the: future. available to: thetrader lntheform preferably packaged: for the trade; theseriesof'paneis which are numbered from H consecutively-through22 in Fig; 1, are alternately oppositely folded or superposed" to-form a book? as will be readily" apparent from- Fig; 6'; Inthe simplest and least expensive form of construction the several panels are-- formed" or a single strip, and even lengths of the strip are folded in accordancewitha template or pattern to result in aneven width of panel and to result in a definite; rectilinear hinge zone 23' which; in assembly. is vertical and'substantia'lly rectilinear; In case the. device is formed with panels of sheet metal, any suitable form of; inexpensive hinge arrangement. may be employed, for'iexample; any

I of the usual 'tongue-and-slot provisions commonly employed.

In assembling the device from its initial book 5 form as shown by Fig. 6, the panels, shown as 13 in number, are extended so as to result in a series of alternately outwardly and inwardly extended,

adjacent wall elements, which are preferably, but without'limitation, disposed at alternately acute and obtuse angles; for example, between the panels l and II isan internal acute angle 24 and between panels H and I2 is an'external, slightly obtuse angle 25, and so through the series. It has been found convenient in joining the ends of ';he wall forming strip of panels to close the Wall upon itself by overlapping a pair of the panels,

for example, those shown at H) and 22, these being at the beginning and end of the series, This arrangement obviates the provision of any special end fastenings, and enables full assembly by a of the individual panels.

Proceeding now to a description of one preferred form of assembling or fastening devices, these are exemplified as formed integrally with, and asparts of a perimetral strip, afragmentary portion of which is shown at 26, at spaced intervals along which are a plurality, one'for each of the outer apex zones of the wall panel, of assembly or fastening devices generally indicated at 21. Functionally and structurallythe fasteners 21 are of trifurcate form. They may of course if desired, be formed separately in case the use of an ornamental strip 26 may not be required or desired. In this case each fastener 21 will be laterally severed and bounded along lines 28 and 29 (Fig. 7) and mayifdesired, be extended upwardly to form an ornamental piece identified with a pennant or burgee structure 30. The functional portions of the fastener per se, consist of a horizontal bridge piece 35, a finger, tine. or prong 36 at one side, a similar element 3Tat the opposite side and an intermediate finger 38, the finger 38 being spaced from fingers 36 and 31 by a pair ofvertical slots of reasonable located at 40 and (Fig. 4). The manner of attachment of'the fastener 21 is best shown by Fig. 4, wherein itwill appear that the slotted portions 40 and 4| of eachfas tener are located just above and near one of the outer apex portions 42, defined by certain of the adjacent panels of the Wall strip now arranged in star form. The slots 40 and. as will readily appear, will serve to receive the upper marginal portions of a pair of the adjacent panels in such manner that the'furcations36 and 31 lie exteriorly of these panels, tending to restrain them against any further divergence, while the intermediate tongue 38 lies between the panels I4 and I for example, in a manner to constitute a bridge piece or spacer therebetween just inwardly of the hinge or fold portion 42. The intermediatefinger will, as is now apparent, serve to prevent furwidth and serve collectively to fix the plan or shape of the wall structure as a whole. Similarly, as to the end panels 10 and 22, the relation thereof in superposed registration as shown by Fig. 6 is assured by the manner of engagement of one of the fasteners in the adjacent acute angle shown nearest these wall elements. In case the fasteners 27 constitute parts of the perimetral band 25, this band or portions thereof, will, as shown by Fig. 4, extend appreciably above the upper wall margins of the paneled wall structure.

A further optional but highly advantageous structural and ornamental provision which serves markedly to add to the realism of the assembly for many of the purposes mentioned, and serves as well to impart increased structural stability in establishing the shape and relative positions of parts of the wall structure, is best shown by Figs. 1, 2 and 3. In employing this latter expedient, it will be seen particularly from Fig. 2 that each of the'wall panels or a plurality thereof is provided near one of its hinge lines 42 with a, long vertical slot, each of these slots being indicated at 50. The slots 50 lie intermediate the top and bottom margins of the panels, and each is located close to but slightly-removed from the nearest panel hinge 42, the arrangement being such that the slots 50 in assembly occur in slightly spaced parallel arrangement'as shown by Fig. 2. They are of a length to receive, when inserted endwise therethrough, an ornamental figure such as 5|, all but'the intermediate portions of which will as seen in Fig. 1, "be spaced considerably from the adjacent panels by which it is supported. The arrangement and width of slots 50 are such that if desired, each figure 5| may traverse the paired slots 50 as shown, and by reason of a very slight deflection of the figure from true planar relation, be frictionally retained in the paired slots; These figures may obviously be formed of any suitable sheet material, such as cardboard, plastic or metal if desired, and may be of the same material as 4 that constituting the wall panels.

It is preferred however, particularly in case the wallstructure is employed as part of a rotatable toy, to employ the figures 5| as additional fasteners. M This is accomplished in a manner which may be identical with that heretofore described in connection with fasteners 21. As will best appear from Fig. 8,each of the figures 5i is provided with a pair of somewhat more widely spaced slots 52 and 53. From these slots results a similar tri-' furcate formation considered as fingers 54 and 55 normally lying outside of the'panels by which the figure is carried, and an intermediate furcation or finger 56 which extends between and bridges one of the outer apical portions of the paired panels between and just below theslotted portions thereof. As is now apparent the slots52 and 53 are occupied by edgewise presented portions of the panel material lying just below the lower ends of the paired cooperating slots 56.

I For many uses of the enclosure,.for example as one, or one of a seriesof center pieces for banquet tables and the like, itlrnay not be, desirable to employ a top, canopy or cover, hence the 1 wall structure even without figures 5| constitutes ther convergence of the adjacent panels such as l4 and I5, in such manner that the action of each group of the furcations or fingers, by establishing the angularity of the panels engaged thereby,

of'itself for certain purposes, a complete structure, with or without the additionof figures and the added fastening expedients as last described. For certain other uses, for example in simulation of a carousel or merry-go-round, it is'desirable' to employ a canopy in simulation of a tent or thelike. Where desired this is supplied with the package unit of Fig. 5, 'preferablyin the form of implied from the description.

asses-4e.

desired there is a center cutout area, shown as circular, and: indicated at 63-; The diameter of the incomplete circular disc (i iscarefully so selected". that, when erected in conicalform,

canopy 64 will just snugly and frictionally engage the internal surface of theband. Z6- carried' bythe pane'l wallportion. If desired, however, the hand 26 'may be attached to theouter margin of the canopy; but this is not usuallynecessary:

Provision for rotation of the assembled enclosurewheredesired, is exemplified} by Figs. 2 and 3 as including' for'best-stability, a stationary preferably circular platform 65 provided with a central sleeve 66 constituting a foot bearing" for a downward extension of a; central mast" 51. Lying somewhat abovethe platform 6i: is a rotatable disc or deck 18' which is supported by a central sleeve TI" secured as by pin 12 to the mast 5-1. Surmounting the mast 6'!" is a spherical ex"- tensionor spinnerhandle '33, which may either be rigidl'y'afiixed to" the mast 6?, win some. cases maybe fixed to the upper end of a spiral" spinner element id operating in well known manner; u

through an internal slotted member 15. This spiral. spinner structure constitutes of itself, no part of the present invention, having: been long known and utilized for the actuation of tops and the like, for conversion of relatively slow reciprocal. motion to a rapid spinning motion.

While any suitable form of assembly of the ornamental enclosure to. the rotatabledeck 10' may be employed, a readily detachable driving connection between these parts is inexpensively afforded by a series of upstanding pin elements 16, some of which are disposed to engage the enclosure exteriorly of, but in the obtuse angle portions between the panels, and others interiorly of the enclosure, and just within the acutely angled apical portions thereof. It will now have appeared that the circular cutout portion 63 (Fig. 5) is provided where desired, to accommodate mast 61 where it projects through the canopy.

The order and extent of assembly of parts thus far described and scheduled, will necessarily depend upon the specific usage for which the enclosure is intended. Assuming pre-assembly of the spinning platform arrangement of Figs. 2 and 3 if and when desired, the panel wall structure is erected and assembled through fasteners 21 as described, which at the same time serves to bring the band 26 into assembly with the wall structure. It is preferred next to apply the now-shaped wall structure over platform 10 with the rotation pins 16 located, for example, as shown by Fig. 1. The flat canopy-forming element having been set up by tongues SI and slots 62, and the knob or handle 13 removed from mast 61 or spinner element 14 as the case may be, the canopy is inserted thereover with the vertical element or elements extending through opening 63 and knob 13 restored to operative position. The device as thus assembled in its 'most complete form, is thus brought to condition for use.

It will now have appeared that the enclosure described serves fully to attain each of the several purposes and objects stated, and many others The detail of dewithin the:fullaintendediscopeofi the claims hereeuntow appended.v 1

I claim as my invention:

1. A miniature ornamental enclosure. adaptedfor use asa toy-or decorative: piece, and inc-lud ing a wall structure consisting of a number of flexibly connected panels; each panel being angul'at'ely related tothe adjacent panels; with the wall structure: closed upon itself; and" fasteningelements edgewise engaging adjacent margins of adjacent panels and serving to fix the angular relation of the panels in amanner to determinetheplan shaping of the enclosure:

2. In a miniature enclosure" ofthe-general type described; a wall structure formed ofa strip of flexibly connected panels closed uponitself; with the panels constituting; in, plan; aregular geometric design, anda plurality'of" fasteners one of" which engages each' of the adjacent margins of the" adjacent'panels'in' a manner to determine the shaping of' the enclosure, each of saidifasteners consisting of three elements edgewise; engaging the adjacent panels; two of said elements" being disposed, one exteriorly of each adjfacent panel and the third element of. the fasteners extended between the margins of the; adjacent panels;

3i The arrangement and combination of; elements as recited by claim 1, but. further characteri'zed" in that the flexibly" connected panels a are of" uniform length and height, and are assembled'" by the. fastening elements to constitute an enclosure" which, inplan, is. of. the shape of a multiple poi'ntedstar.

4-. In an enclosure of miniature size for: use as a" decorative" piece, a wall structure formed as a strip of hingedly connected panels, angulately related to each other with the wall structure closedupon itself, and a plurality of trifurcate fastening elements edgewise engaging adjacent margins of the adjacent panels to fix the angular relation of the panels and determine the plan shaping of the enclosure.

5. In a device of the general type described, a series of pairs of angularly related miniature Wall elements, ,fiexibly connected to each other, and a plurality of assembly devices for fixing the angular relation of the adjacent panels, each assembly device consisting of a bridge piece, a plurality of furcations extending at a right angle to the bridge piece, and the furcations spaced to provide a pair of spaced slots of a width to receive edge portions of the adjacent panels in the slots.

6. A fastener for use in erecting and maintaining a predetermined angular position of a wallforming strip of a miniature enclosure, the fastener consisting of an element of sheet material provided with two spaced elongate notches adapted to receive spaced edge portions of the wall strip in such manner that the edge portions project in relatively opposite directions through the notches.

7. In a miniature ornamental enclosure for use as a toy or decorative piece, a continuous wall structure formed of a number of flexibly connected panels of substantially uniform length, each panel being flexibly connected to one or more adjacent panels in a defined vertical rectilinear zone, and a fastening device for use in each such zone, for fixing the disposition of the panels and shape of the enclosure, the fastening s'cription to.be.understood-: solely; imam instrumtive and inz limiting: sense, many vari ants bothof. structure. andusage. being possible";

portions defining three tongue elements, one of V v thetongue elements extendedbetween the ad' jacent panels connected by the fastening device,

and the other tongue elements extending respectively outside of each of the adjacent panels with which the fastening device is employed.

8. The combination and arrangement of wall elements in a miniature ornamental, enclosure.

substantially in accordance with claim 1, but further characterized in that the several panels are them to be foldedinsuperposed relation following disassembly of the fastening elements, in such manner'that the wall panels constitute a flat packageable structure.

9; An ornamental enclosure including a wall portion and a canopy, the wall portion consisting of a series of flat panels each flexibly connected along a vertical Zone to one or more adjacent panels, to constitute a star-shaped enclosure in plan, the canopy being'provided with a plurality of securement elements serving to position the canopy on the wall structure and to fix the angular relation'of the wall panels, each such fastener consisting of three vertical fingers,

one of which extends downwardly from the canopy between and interiorly of a pair of the wall panels and serving as a spacer between said wall panels, the remaining fingers extending exteriorly and downwardly over a pair of the adjacent panels and serving as panel retaining elements. 10. In an ornamental enclosure of the general type described, a plurality of substantially fiat flexibly connected foldable panels assembled in a series to constitute the enclosure, each pair of adjacent panels being provided with an elongate vertical slot near the zone of its juncture with jflexibly connected insuch manner as to enable an adjacent panel, and a trifurcate fastener.

formed to provide a pair of slots for receiving therein, marginal'portions of an adjacent pair of panels and fixing the angularity of same, and a second fastener similarly provided with a'pair of'vertical slots adapted to extend through the vertical panels slots with the slots of the second fastener receiving the panel portions at the ends of the vertical panel slots to aid in fixing the angularity of adjacent panels.

11. An'ornamental enclosure including a side wall portion consisting of a strip of flexibly related foldable panels, the strip being connected upon itself, and a strip surmounting the wall portion and provided with marginal notches edgewise interfitting the upper wall portions of the panels in a manner to fix the angular relation of the several panels, hence to determine the plan shaping of the panels of the wall portion strip.

12. An ornamental enclosure characterized by a Wall and a perimetral wall band, the wall being comprised of a series of hingedly related planar panels with the series of panels closed upon itself to constitute in plan a device of generally star shape with some of the panels bearing an acute angle relation to each other, the wall band being provided with a series of vertical slots each of which overlies one of the outer apical portions of the paneled Wall structure, each of the slotted portions of the band serving as a fastener for retention of the band on the wall structure and similarly serving to fix the angularity of at least certain'of the wall panels, each of said fasteners including a pair of outer panel-engaging portions and an intermediate panel spacing finger extended downwardly between a pair of the panels in the zone of their hinged connections HAZE]; NOEL CASEY. 

